people believe everything is okay, nasa has put it out on the website that we'll be okay after tomorrow, this is great news for the locals there? they are bringing in a lot of money. they must be thrilled about the tourism. >> reporter: yes. it's interesting. if you go to a mayan community, and that's only about a half hour drive from here, which has hardly changed in 200 or 300 years, they have that muched houses, a lot believe in the calendar but they haven't seen the economic benefit trickle down away from the hotels here. >> all right. nick parker, if you're still there team and we are, too, we'll see you then. thank you for reporting. thank you everyone was watching. "newsroom" begins now with suzanne malveaux. >> welcome to "cnn newsroom." the first major storm of the season hitting the midwest closing roads and forcing holiday travelers to stay home. a blizzard warnings stretches

from eastern colorado to wisconsin. more than 30,000 people have lost power in iowa now, which has seen the most snow so far, as much as 8 inches. near white-out conditions on the roads called a 30-car pileup near fort dodge, iowa killing one person. the storm is heading east expected to hit new england sometime tomorrow. we'll keep our eye on the system and pri you the latest throughout the hour. political showdown playing out on capitol hill could lead to higher taxes for almost all of us. the house votes today on speaker john boehner's backup proposal to avoid the automatic tax increases and spending cuts set to take in effect just 12 days from now. president obama is threatening to veto that plan. a new cnn/orc poll reflects the concern among americans if the two sides do not reach a deal. 20% say going over the so-called fiscal cliff would lead to a crisis. 50% say it would cause major problems. dana bash is on capitol hill

following this. i understand you have two lawmakers who are going to be votes on speaker boehner's plan b. how do they feel about this? >> we're steps off the house floor where the vote will take place later on today and i'm with congressman steve sutherland of florida and john fleming of louisiana. both of they see men are going to vote against your leader, against the speaker on this. why? >> well, we have great concerns that this doesn't go far enough to really solve the problems that we face. i would lean no yesterday. nothing that i've seen today really changes me wanting to go the in the other direction. america needs to understand we have significant problems that we face, a mountain of unfunded mandates. closing in on $100 trillion, and this does nothing to prevent us from continuing to move towards a crash course. >> now, there are probably people saying how could these

two members of congress vote against keeping taxes in place for everybody except millionaires? what's wrong with raising taxes on millionaires? >> you have to understand that the higher income earners are smul business owners and they hire people. we have a very steep, aggressive tax system, and for us to pull out of this recovery, you know, we have the highest unemployed rate in terms of people sitting on the sidelines, 23 million americans since 1982. if we want to increase revenue, we need more taxpayers. the way to do that is employ more people. by taxing business owners, that's going to be very difficult. we're going to continue to see an anemic recovery. >> reporter: the reason the speaker says he's doing this is for lots of reasons, but one is to try to grease the wheels with the larger negotiations. yesterday the president said, faye t take the deal. he said he thinks par of the reason it isn't going through is

because of him, because republicans like you don't want to sign onto something the president has signed onto. >> let me be very clear regarding the president. it's clear he's doing everything within his power to take us over the cliff, and he is set on dividing us. whereas, i want to commend our speaker, because he's working as hard as he can, as other members of leadership, to keep us whole. to make sure that we aren't divided. to make sure that we are a strong country, that we do create jobs to move that economy forward. the president has said, look, this bill is dead on arrival. it will not be heard in the senate, and it would be vetoed if it made it the to the president's desk. the american people, hear what the president is saying, i'm doing everything i can to make sure we go over the cliff. >> reporter: you say the president is trying to go over the cliff. he arg uses he's given a lot, and a lot of people in his own party aren't happy with spending

cuts in these negotiations with the speaker. >> dana, the president ran on $3 cut to every income of $1 in tax ra ation. the offer was a less than 1:1 ratio, and those are not real cuts all. they're artificial future theoretical cuts and more stimulus spending. it's really going to increase spending. he's going against his own promise to the american people. >> reporter: the democrats particularly at the white house they argue they have a lot of trouble getting a deal just 12 days out with the speaker because he can't control his caucus. the fact you vote against him, on raising taxes for millionaires and up, is that, you know -- are you proving their point? >> i would argue that we're not doing as you suggest. we're not voting to cut taxes for everybody but millionaires. what we're doing with this vote is to increase taxes on millionaires, and by the time this thing makes its way by the

president, it will be down to 400 to maybe $250,000 income people, which in some states is middle class. so i would argue that our vote we took in august was very simple. we voted to extend the bush tax rates for everybody. that's how to push america forward. what we're going to do today. if we vote he yes the on the bill, we increase taxes on certain segments. >> dana, ask the lawmakers this. this is something the president started off with saying 250,000, everybody above would be taxed more. now he's raised that to 400,000. boehner says more than a million. is there some compromise in between there? perhaps people making 500,000, 600,000 where you bring those numbers closer together? would that be open to something like that. >> reporter: suzanne is asking since the president right now in negotiations with the speaker is talking to income levels of 400,000 keeping taxes low for them and the speaker says a

million. do you think there's a middle ground in between. it might be hard to answer, but ng your colleagues do you think that has any potential to get through the house? >> i think it's difficult, because you still haven't solved the problem. we know that the president when he was going after the 250 created enough revenue to run this place for eight days. so we're talking less than that now. we're still running around the fundamental problem, and it is not a revenue issue here. it is a spending issue. that must be addressed. i think that you say how difficult we are. no, i think we're realistic. i think we've all voted and claimed that our problem is spending, and now we have to pass legislation that mirrors that. >> the polls are with us on this. they say the american people more than anything want to see spending cuts rather than tax increases. >> reporter: thank you both for joining us. just to be clear i was giving

you the white house's arson ugu. thank you very much. this is a protect illustration of how things are very difficult, because there are genuine philosophical differences on how to address this very, very real budget crisis in this country. >> even the republicans, we see the republicans are divided as well. dana, thank you very much for following up on that. of course, we look at vote as it happens in the aftermath. we follow the other story, the up top story. an update on the aftermath of the elementary school massacre in newtown, connecticut. herse hearses are making their way through the town today. vice president biden is meeting in the next hour with law enforcement representatives as well as cabinet members. what he's doing is leading the president's effort to come up with new proposals to reduce gun violence. also today attorney general eric holder, he is meeting with law enforcement officials and first responders in newtown. we have learned new information about the gunman's mother.

friends say that nancy lanza went on vacation alone at a resort in new hampshire days before the shooting. she checked out last thursday afternoon. her son killed her and went on his murderous rampage friday morning. we've also been able to piece together details about the gunman, adam lanza's mother nan nancy. haven't heard much from the father. mary snow is taking a closer look at a strange relationship between the father and son. >> his home is less than hour away from where his son adam oepd fire in sandy hook elementary school, but a person that knows him says he hadn't had communication with his son in about two years when adam cut his father out of his life about the time the elder lanza remarried. until then, peter lanza, an executive with ge, seen in this linked in photo, had weekly visits with adam. according to the same source that told us lanza didn't live

the in the newtown since 2001, eight years before his divorce with ex-wife nancy was finalized. in the hours after the shooting a reporter for the stamford advocate outside peter lanza's house told cnn lanza was unauto wear of his son's involvement in the shooting. >> i said we received a report that somebody at this address is connected to the shooting in newtown. his face just went from -- you know, he'd been this very polite stranger making pleasantries with me, and he went from that to sort of shock and then just this horrified look. essentially declined comment, rolled up his window and went inside his house. >> since then he released a statement expressing condolences for victims' families and friends adding, we're in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can. we too are asking why. peter lanza's sister-in-law told

reporters both lanza and his ex-wife were committed to their kids' welfare. >> they were the type of parentses when they were married as well as separated, if the kids had a need they would fill it. >> court documents show few hints of an acrimonious divorce and indicate a comfortable lifestyle. irreconcilable differences were the reasons for the divorce. alimony was set this year at $298,000. it shows peter lanza would pay for his son's college and graduate school, medical insurance and provide a car for him. peter lanza was questioned by investigators searching for a motive. he said in a statement over the weekend that he had cooperated fully with law enforcement and will continue to do so. mary snow, cnn, new york. >> we are all asking why after those deaths in newtown. the search for answers. there's one fact that we can't ignore. these kinds of mass shootings happen in the united states more than anything else in the industrialized world. we'll go next to japan.

that is where gun violence is almost nonexistent, but first -- ♪ three cheers for the green and white ♪ ♪ the sandy hook school >> these are students from new york ps 22 chorus singing their song to honor the victims there in newtown. their goal, of course, to bring hope and inspiration to families who have been impacted by the shooting. these are fifth graders from staten island. ♪ we'll go ♪ we'll do our best our very best to learn and grow ♪ it's lots of things. all waking up. connecting to the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything. ♪ it's going to be amazing. and exciting. and maybe, most remarkably, not that far away.

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a 12-year-old found a loaded gun in a movie theater in oregon with a round in the chamber with the safety off. he did not p pick up the gun. he told his teacher who called police. he was part of a group of students being awarded for good work with a trip to the movies yesterday to see "the hobbit." police are trying to trace the gun to the owner and have notified the district attorney for possible charges. in the u.s. firearm homicide rates are 19 times higher than the other high-income industrialized countries according to the brady campaign. national correspondent kyung law compares her years of reporting in japan where there's almost no gun violence. >> reporter: i moved back to the u.s. this summer. for the last five years i lived in japan as cnn's tokyo correspondent. in that entire time i never covered a shooting. there weren't any.

this is my third mass shooting i've covered in just six months. >> she's on the scene for us at that apartment complex. she has more on this part of the investigation. >> reporter: in this brief time i've heard this question again and again by those victimized, most recently from a frustrated newtown resident. >> why are we so different from so many other industrialized countries that have so little gun violence, and we are just -- what makes us so different? s why is that? >> i don't have the answer. i can compare japan and u.s. in japan there are no guns. it's the safest place i've lived. here in the u.s. gun ownership is considered normal. 40% of americans own one. there are enough guns here to arm every single man, woman and child about 300 million firearms. but these mass shootings, which are now a part of our american narrative, follow a familiar

pattern, the shock, national outrage, memorials, funerals, and then the conversation fades. the rest of the world wonders why. i've seen too many messy and they've been here 12 years. people outside of america can't understand that. >> it's not all about guns. remember japan's tsunami. in the wake of the disaster people lined up for food and water. there was never any vie he lens. no rioting and crime. it's about society. individual rights are second to the community's needs in japan. here in the united states it's considered sack sank. we prize freedom, the good and the bad. >> it's about freedom. freedom works both ways, you know. if americans would waive their freedom to buy any kind of guns any time anywhere in any

situation, that would have given these kids at the elementary school the freedom to live. >> i met these three men that fought for freedom in iraq and afghanistan. these men of war were so disturbed by the newtown shootings that they came here on their day off to donate christmas trees at the town hall. they wonder, what is this national security that they're fighting so hard for? >> to come home to what you think is safe, and it to experience the same thing here, it's troubling. it brings such sorrow to everyone, the whole army. >> none of us have the answer. maybe the deaths of the shooter's mother, 20 innocent children and their brave teachers will this time keep a vital american conversation going. cnn, newtown, connecticut. >> it's been more than a dwreer since the revolution that brought down gaffedy, so what is life like now in libya after the death of a dictator? we'll talk to a woman that spent

the morning with the country's new president. [ woman ] ring. ring.

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the congressional hearings follow an independent report that blame the state department for what they called systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies regarding embassy security. u.s. ambassador to libya, christopher stevens, and three other americans were killed in that benghazi attack. it set off a firestorm in washington about exactly who was responsible for not making that consulate more security. elise is in washington. we know there is some fallout here. one state department official resigned and three others on administrative leave. what is next? >> that's right. the top assistant secretary for diplomatic security eric boswell, and a few others in his department and mideast policy shop have been reashrined. there's a lot of questions about whether top officials and more senior levels of the department to secretary clinton should be held responsible even though the

panel said no. we heard from the deputy secretary and secretary clinton's deputies. they were sufficiently contrite i'd say. there's nothing you can do with a scathing report other than accept the recommendations and say we know we messed up and need to do better. >> we know that the secretary of state hillary clinton has accepted full responsibility for what happened. she's accepted all these recommendations. is she required or will she go before this board? we know she's not testifying today because she's recuperating from a concussion. >> that's right. but she has said that she would testify in january, and a the lot of senators this morning and also the chairman of the house foreign affairs committee have said they would like to hear from her. she's expected to be at the beginning of january, and she said she would testify. she's not legally required to, but i think, suzanne, she really wants to be heard by the committees and get this behind her. >> is there any concern from the state department or even from

the secretary herself about her legacy? that perhaps it would be tarnished with all the questions and what they called systemic failures in the department? >> certainly, it's a blemish on an otherwise pretty stellar reputation over the last four years, and a very good relationship with congress. i think that that's why secretary's aides really do want her to testify, because as you know, she has good relationships with congress. when she testifies, she doesn't get a lot of toughing questioning. i think that they feel that if she could testify she could paint it in the best light. she's done exactly what people with the state department are expecting them to do, which is accept responsibility for the errors made. the panel did not find her personally responsible and said it happened at a lower level managerial thing and never went up the chain of command from her. i think she does want to take responsibility on behalf of her department. >> all right. elise, thank you. appreciate it. while washington is discussing the security breakdown in

benghazi, the libyan government is focused on the broader issue of national security and reconciliation. it's more than a year since rebels captured and killed the long-time dictator omar gadhafi. zar is here with us from tripoli and she's the co-founder of the women's libyan platform for peace. i understand you held a peace conference that included the president, militia members, lawmakers, women representatives as well. what do you feel about the state of your country and where it is heading now? >> well, thank you. our country is at the moment in crisis, and that's due to that we as a country in the government and society did not address the issue of transitional justice and national reconciliation from the beginning. yes, there are very encouraging

trends towards libya's transition towards inclusionive democracy. in july libya held the first elections, the country's first multihaf party democratic elections since 1952. a woman won 16.5% of the congress, yet, not addressing the security issues is hindering the whole process of the reconstruction of libya. >> do you feel safe in your community and your country? you say it's in crises because they haven't addressed security issues. >> yes, yes. when i say it's in crisis, it doesn't mean that we as women or as people we don't feel safe, because we see today -- today we held this conference. and we had women from the south, from the western mountains. we had women from benghazi city.

we're keen to attend near tripoli and to work actually closely with senior members of militias. this is the first time ever that we call for an international dialogue creating a venue, platform where all parts of libyan society will meet and discuss the challenges we're facing. it all has to do with creating an efficient judiciary system as well as a security system. >> sure. it sounds very encouraging. i know that's very significant for you. the consulate, the u.s. consulate that was attacked in benghazi, there are many libyans who took to the streets afterwards voicing support for the united states and the presence of the united states. do libyans still support the united states now? have their feelings changed about the role that americans have played? >> yes. actually, this was always there,

and we've seen it ever since the liberation where hillary clinton and even president and condemn ran when they were in benghazi welcomed in the square. this was like a catalyst moment in the history when we came together for common values, democracy, and peace. so this kind of appreciation, though it was a bit questioned after the tragic attack at benghazi, but then you saw the people, how themselves came out in the streets and they actually felt very sorry for that attack and the killing of the aambassador so they're keen for working together and collaborating on common interests and values. >> zahra, thank you for giving us as an update.

we'll keep up with you. there's a lot of change within the country and as mgs and the role of women and how that is changing as well bit by bit. thank you very much, zahra. appreciate it. south korea just elected its first female president. pretty cool, huh? she's also the daughter of a former dictator. ♪ the weather outside is frightful ♪ ♪ but the fire is so delightful ♪ nothing melts away the cold like a hot, delicious bowl of chicken noodle soup from campbell's. ♪ let it snow, let it snow

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the people of south carolina made a choice for the history books yesterday. tlaekt aid woman to be president for the next five years. park geun-hae is the first female president of south korea. there's something else they brings into the highest office of the country, and that is her name. it's synonymous with what many koreans consider a dark time in their history. i'll bring in christiane amanpour. tell us what the significance is. you have someone before women elect laekted as president of a asian countries but this has a legacy to divide the korean people. what is this about? >> her legacy is decisive. it raises a huge number of memories and many dark for south

koreans. her father was south korea's long-time dictator. he was assassinated in 1979 and succeeded in pushing the country towards economic growth and economic liberalization. he also had a very dark record on human rights, and that was a very bad time in south korea's history. so this is obviously many, many years later. she had to leave that palace after her father was assassinated. now she's won her right to enter the presidential palace again, and she's making all the right noises. trying to reach out. she also, obviously, is going to reaffirm the close ties with the united states and, of course, what south korea does with north korea is going to be of vital importance and interest not just to the region but also to the u.s. >> christiane on another sunlt and fascinating story. i understand you met a well-respected science who says he has evidence to back up a story from the bible. tell us about this guy and how you met him and your ventures? >> well, you know, kind of

whiplash editorially, but i'm -- i have a wonderful special this weekend on abc news. it's on friday. it's at 9:00 p.m. eastern, and it's called "back to the beginning." as part of that, tracing the historical roots of the old testament where we see, you know, the bible and also elements of the koran coming together. a common faith for jews, christians and muslims. we try to see not just the impact of those old testament stories even today in their resonance, but could we also trace historical archaeological proof? as you can imagine, there isle precious llgts that tie these biblical stories to reality except the notion of a biblical flood. we interviewed and visited with dr. robert ballard, who is an extraordinarily famous person. he's the world's leading underwater discover, adventurer and archaeologist.

he found the ship wreck of the titanic. he thinks he can find evidence of a civilization of 7,000 years ago washed away by an monumental flood, and that would have been at the time he of noah. while he doesn't think we'll find the ark 7,000 years later, he thinks there's a great possibility to find evidence of a civilization. that is a sort of illustration of why these stories are being passed down and handed down asa resonate today. there were events that caused the stories to be told, to be written and to be passed down. i describe it as a great detective story. it's a great adventure story. it's for believers and nonbelievers and grown-ups and children. >> it's pretty awesome. we're going to be watching. you don't get noah's ark but you come close. thank you. good to see you as always. >> sure. >> two months after superstorm sandy devastated staten island,

people are still rebuilding. they're not only rebuilding the stet bu long-lasting relationships. watch. >> we lost our lives in an instant. >> i'm going to lose my mind. >> there was nothing you could do. >> i can't explain. >> you don't understand. we need help! >> this is one of the toughest times that i ever faced in my life. the people really don't know the devastation that actually occurred on staten island firsthand, because you really needed to be here to really see it with your eyes. you needed to be down seeing people's lives destroyed. if i just sit back and make like this didn't happen, i'd be lying and fooling myself. i will be there for my community.

there's thousands and thousands, millions of people just like me that are out there looking to, you know, help and rebuild. >> would you like some food? you want this one? >> i gave them a promise i would say until they didn't need me anymore. they come for their hot food, supplies. we go out and make sure they're clean, if they need help cleaning, demolition. seeing the people, siege the tears, holding them while they were crying, is really touched home. i could see they really needed somebody, somebody to see every day knowing that if it was one person, that one person was there for them and wasn't going to leave and back out on them. >> in these hard times it touches your heart deep down inside knowing that there's people out there that care. >> when i go home at night, i can put my head on the pillow and go to sleep knowing that i

helped a whole bunch of people feel better about their situation maybe just a little bit. >> just don't forget us. keep us in your heart and in your prayers and thoughts. if you could help the people out of staten island in any way, please do. i always wait until the last minute.

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president obamaments to know how people are hired at army day care centers. this is unusual from the present. barbara starr is talking about this. first of all, why it did did he this? >> it is extraordinary, suzanne. in a week when the country is so focused on the safety of small

children, the army is getting a failing grade big-time. the president having to pick up the phone and call the secretary of the army on tuesday night to express his personal concern right from the white house about a number of arrests and a growing scandal at an army child care facility here in washington, d.c. here's what happened. back in september two workers arrested, charged with some assault against small children at the facility, pinching them, slapping them, dragging them across the floor. this sparked a look at the background checks on all the workers there. it wound up last friday 30 child care workers of 130 that worked at the facility, 30 workers over all dismissed. they have things in their background checks like assault, drug use, abuse of minors, things like this. many more had some minor charges, but generally things that certainly would have disqualified them for working in

this facility. >> when was the president noticed about all this taking place? >> this is one of the big issues. the arrest happened in september. they start doing the background checks. the secretary of the army, the army says he didn't find out how widespread this was until last friday night when these people were dismissed from their jobs. some of the parents had been informed along the way, but the army leadership doesn't know until last friday, defense secretary leon panetta is finally told on tuesday, the president is told on tuesday. there is now a review of all child care facilities, all the background check procedures across the country. suzanne. >> real quickly here, because i know we don't have a lot of time. do they think this is one particular facility or indemmink and they have a bigger problem on their hand. >> terrific question. the answer is they don't know yet. they're checking everything one more time. >> thank you, barbara. appreciate it. an ancient culture fighting for

rights in australia. we'll go to the battle of the airwaves on a new television station. we're going to look aboriginal tv. 315 horsepower. what's that in reindeer-power? [ laughs ] [ pencil scratches ] [ male announcer ] chevy's giving more. get the best offer of the year -- 0% apr financing for 60 months plus $1,000 holiday bonus cash. plus trade up for an additional $1,000 trade-in allowance. hurry. bonus cash ends january 2nd.

ak ridge knees are looking for a new tf station as a new front fear in a fight for acceptance. amy laporte has that story. >> i'm going to burn it. >> australia's indigenous population has long struggled to

find an identity in modern culture. for decades they sought land rights, recognition and an apology for atroscities committed against them. from the violent colonization of australia to what's known as the stolen generation. they took them from their mother's armed removed with the belief indigenous families couldn't care for their own children. this is the indigenous population most australians think they know. now a new tv station is hoping it to make history. it's dedicated to the coverage of aboriginal affairs. it's goal is to show another side of indigenous life to a mainstream australian audience. >> they're free to with almost all australians able to turn on

the tv and turn on the station and watch and absorb and learn and interact. i think it's a special thing. >> it first hit the airwaves in 2007, but its audience of small broadcasting on subscription tv. fast forward they switch on across the nation seen by the international community as a major leap forward. >> the establishment of natv will challenge stereotypes of people. it will play an important role in promoting the rights of indigenous people and safeguarding indigenous culture and language for years to come. they're broadcasting from an indigenous treasure. with the help of high profile aborigines, they're writing a new chapter in australian history. >> wow. our own amy laporte is joining

us. that's a fascinating story. tell us specifically here who is this tv station? who is the audience that they're aiming for that they'd like to communicate to? who do they want to attract? >> okay. this is mainstream australia. it's important to note that australia really only has five major television networks. so the significance of having one of these dedicated only to indigenous coverage has huge significance. it's important to know they're really struggling for a modern identity. they're torn between these stereotypes a tribal, primitive culture. groups in remote parts of australia carrying spears and hunting kangaroos, and because of affirmative action, they're similar to native-americans here. then you have this welfare dependency stereotype. this is really helping them get over this systemic racism that's really prevalent in australian

culture. >> remind us of the history. you had this national apology day, national sorry day where people were saying, look, we acknowledge that there was aatroscities done. is there still violence against the aborigine people? >> they were disenfranchised for a very long time. they were fighting alongside white australians in world wars, but they weren't given the right to vote until the 1960s after the violent colonization and then the stolen generation. that was our prime minister apologizing for taking aboriginal children out of their homes and giving them to -- adopting them into white families. now you have this generation of middle-aged aborigines who are trying to find their heritage, and they can't wauz because the aadoption records and birth records are gone. more recently in 2007 we had this very controversial what's known as the northern territory intervention, northern territory is in the north of australia. the government acting on reports of child abuse sent military and

police into these remote communities and began patrolling the streets and setting up curfews. that was really salt in the wound force a population that felt once again white australia was telling them we know what's best for you. that really didn't help. >> this tv station really a huge leap forward? >> massive leap forward? >> amy is our resident aussie. thank you very much. we appreciate it. in new zealand it's already friday, and if you buy the way some people read the mayan calendar, it means the end of the world should have hit that part of the world by now. we'll take a closer look at the hyster hysteria. tually share something. ♪ the lexus december to remember sales event is on. this is the pursuit of perfection. it's lots of things. all waking up. connecting to the global phenomenon we call the internet of everything.

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implts last chance to take a tourism deal. some believe it points to the end of the world tomorrow being 12 identify 21-12. the mexican tourism industry is catching in even though some mayans say the frenzy is exploiting their culture. hears nick parker. >> reporter: surging crowds of tourists, calendar memorabilia, and countdown clocks in airports around the country. all part of an international marketing campaign geared around

one date. this is one of the most iconic sites in mayan culture. this was built more than 1,000 years ago but today helped to attract more than 50 million tourists to southeast mexico in the last year alone. >> you're here near to a date that's going to be hugely over people so it's r i think it's interesting. >> we thought at that according to the mayans it's the end of the world. >> films like "2012" helped to spread the idea of an apocalypse. mexico launched a teaser campaign to capitalize on global speculation. it was the brainchild of gloria that left office as tourism minister. >> we say some people believe it's the end of the world, 12-21-12. they believe it's the beginning of a new era. you have to come to mexico to discover what is it. >> reporter: mel gonzalez say

the calendar as an opportunity. he opened a boutique hotel. >> judging by the number of hotels built in town and tour operators created, we can tell there's a lot of expectations. a few hotels in town are giving discounts because it's the end of the world. >> reporter: some mayans have complained about the exploitation about their culture, but she says they're in the mirnlt. >> what i have seen is they're very happy. they see the benefit, because the nice about the tourism is that they share -- it shares the benefit with everyone. >> others disagree. alphonso running tourist tlus the communities and say the dollars are going elsewhere. >> most of the money is spent in transportation and they don't own taxis, hotels and restaurants. here they don't have those services yet. >> yet may be the word. hotels across the five mayan states are nearly sold out ahead of the big date. the hope is interest in the

culture is long-term assuming everybody survives december 21st. nick parker, cnn, yucatan, mexico. >> it should serve as some comfort if you're nervous about tomorrow's doomsday predictions. it's almost friday in some parts of the world and so far we seem to be hanging on. designed for women's health concerns as we age. he. it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day 50+. it has 7 antioxidants to support cell health. why they have a raise your rate cd. tonight our guest, thomas sargent. nobel laureate in economics, and one of the most cited economists in the world. professor sargent, can you tell me what cd rates will be in two years? no. if he can't, no one can. that's why ally has a raise your rate cd. ally bank. your money needs an ally.

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welcome to "cnn newsroom." the first major storm of the season is hitting the midwest closing roads and forcing holiday travelers to stay home. a blizzard warning stretches from eastern colorado to wisconsin. more than 30,000 people have lost power in iowa, which has seen the most snow since so far. as much as 8 inches. southwest airlines has canceled all flights out of chicago's midway airport starting at 5:00 eastern. near white-out conditions caused a 30-car pileup near fort dodge, iowa, killing one person. it's set to hit new england sometime tomorrow. we'll keep our eye on the system and bring you the latest through the hour. >> we have an update on the aftermath of the elementary school massacre in newtown, connecticut. hearses making their way through town again today. at least three more students, a

teacher and school therapist are being laid to rest. biden is meeting next hour with law enforcement representatives and cabinet members. he'll lead the effort to come up with new proposals to reduce gun violence. today attorney general air rec holder is meeting with officials. we've learned new information about the gunman's mother. friends say that nancy lanza went on vacation alone at a resort in new hampshire days before the shooting. she checked out last thursday afternoon. her son killed her and went on a murderous rampage on friday morning. we'll have more on the investigation. right now on capitol hill, second hearing is set to start on the attack that killed four americans at a u.s. consulate in benghazi libya. secretary of state clinton was supposed fob in the hot seat there, but two deputies are answering to congress instead. this is earlier. senate foreign relations hearing.

questioning has moved over to the house. the hearings are following an independent report that blame the state department for what they called systemic failures and leadership and management deficiencies regarding embassy security. elise is in washington. what have we learned so far during this senate session? >> suzanne, there were tough questions, but basically the only thing tom nydes and bill burns can do is be sufficiently contri contrite, take their medicine and say, listen, we know there were a lot of mistakes made and we have to do better and implementation those recommendations of this independent panel. so that's basically what we learned, is that the state department is taking it this very seriously and is ready to do whatever it can. i don't think we learned anything new from the hearings, though. >> we know that there was at least one state department official that has resigned, three others placed on administrative leave saturday of this independent report. what do we expect to come out of

these hearings. >> i think a couple of things. first of all, recognition the state department needs to make reforms right away. it's an unstable situation, particularly in the middle east. a lot of posts are sfraj jifrag they need to work on reforms. i think there's a lot of questions about whether any other heads should roll, if you will. we had the top deputy diplomatic security official eric boswell that resigned and a few deputies, but there are a lot of questions. how far up the chain of command this went and whether others should be held accountable. >> why is it that secretary of state hillary clinton is not actually held responsible here? she says she's accepting these recommendations. why is it that she's not before this group? >> well, the reason that she's not sitting before the group is because she's still, as you know, suffering from a concussion and the doctor's orders to rest. that's why she's not there

today. she plans to testify in january. the panel found that the fault really lied at the mid-level, suzanne, where the rubber meets the road in terms of security decisions that were made. they left it at that and never went up to the chain of command. so that's why secretary isn't responsible. a lot of people want to know, though, how involved she was in the security and also one other thing, suzanne, i think that came out of the hearing today is congress' responsibility in terms of providing more resources for security. that's something that senator john kerry brought up today. he's wildly expected to be the next secretary of state, and he made clear he's going to be before this committee in the months ahead coming for more resources for the department. >> thank you, appreciate it. vice president joe biden charged with heading up white house efforts to address gun violence. he's meeting with law enforcement leaders from around the country right now in washington. they are talking about what to do in the aftermath of friday's massacre in connecticut.

this is the first step since yesterday's announcement by the president of this interagency effort to address a very serious problem. that is gun violence. >> this is not something where folks are going to be studying the issue for six months and publishing a report that gets read and then pushed aside. this is a team that has a very specific task. to pull together real reforms right now. >> the vice president, he is joined by attorney general eric holder, secretary of education arne duncan, secretary of homeland security janet napolitano and the secretary of health and human services kathleen sebelius. there's a showdown on capitol hill today that could mean higher taxes for almost all of us. the house votes on speaker john boehner's backup proposal to avoid the automatic tax increases and spending cuts that are set to take effect 12 days away. the president is threatening to

veto that plan. now, boehner's fall-back plan would raise income taxes on those making more than a million dollars yir. the president wants higher rates to start around $400,000 a year. boehner would couple his tax hike with a repeal of limits on income tax deductions and incentives. the white house calls it another gift to the rich. both sides want spending cuts but the president wants the deblt kreelgs raised high enough to get us through 214. a new poll reflects the concern among any of us if the two sides don't real a deal. 20% say going over the so-called fiscal cliff would lead to a crisis, 50% say it would cause major problems. when asked which side should compromise nor in the talks, 53% say the republicans should and 41% say democrats should compromise more. we saw progress earlier in the week.

the fiscal cliff talks again hitting a roadblock. we'll bring in dana bash on capitol hill. you must be back and forth thinking where are we now? are they ready to compromise here? it looks like we're at a stand still again. >> reporter: the answer really is no. that's public rhetoric as well as what's going on maybe the right way to say it is what's not going on privately. we'll see the house speaker talk in about ten minutes. this is after we heard from senate democrats in an oddly giddy press conference talking really, really explicitly about the fact that no matter what happens later today with the house vote to, as you just said, plan b, to keep taxes in place for incomes making up to $1 million, the senate won't do anything with it. in fact, they go home and deal with some other things and come back after christmas. they're also trying to make analogies to what they think the republicans are doing. one anatural gee was thelma and

louise where they held hands and drove off the cliff again. that's where the analogy is. listen to dick durbin, the number two democrat in the senate. >> remember the closing sustain in thelma and louise, rather than face the reality they hit the gas. that's what we hear from speaker boehner now, hit the gas and go over the cliff. what we have are intense negotiations by speaker boehner with not the president, his own republicans. night and day working to bring over the tea party republicans to a plan that has no chance. >> it is true that the speaker and his deputies have been trying all day and last night as well to make sure that they even have the votes from fellow republicans to put forward this plan b. to that definitely is a subplot going on here. the big, important plot is still that the big talks between the speaker and the president,

they're virtually nowhere right now and the senate is saying, once this is done it's still from their perspective has to go back to the court to the talks between the speaker and president or else nothing will happen. >> dana, this last hour you were talking to two lawmakers, republicans who said they wouldn't is the this plan b that boehner has put forward here. we know that the president is going to possibly delay his holiday, his vacation in hawaii. he's going to stay in washington to try and get it done. do we expect they'll all sit in their seats trying to hash something out before the new year? >> reporter: well, as i said, the two people who are going to have to do this now again, according to all sides, has to be the president and the speaker. the president is delaying his trip he says. we're going to hear from the speaker about what his plans are. we heard from the senate's top democrat, the senate majority leader he plans to go to the funeral or the memorial service for senator daniel inoyae and a

funeral in hawaii and we're up to christmas eve and christmas. the senate won't come back until next week, you can hope when they get back they'll have something to vote on, but it's too close to call right now. we just don't know. >> dana, thank you. appreciate it. like the debate over expiring tax cuts, weather unpredictab unpredictable. just ahead the official start of winter. wisconsin governor scott walker called for a state of emergency as a severe storm now pummels the state. 315 horsepower. what's that in reindeer-power? [ laughs ] [ pencil scratches ] [ male announcer ] chevy's giving more. get the best offer of the year -- 0% apr financing for 60 months plus $1,000 holiday bonus cash. plus trade up for an additional $1,000 trade-in allowance.

wisconsin's governor has declared a state of emergency. as much as a foot of snow is expected in some areas with high winds to reduce visibility to just about zero. already those conditions have caused a 30-car pileup in iowa killing at least one person. more than 30,000 people have lost power in iowa, which has seen the most snow so far, as much as 8 inches. nebraska authorities closed much of interstate 80. holiday shoppers and travelers are being told to stay off the roads. our ted rowlands is at o'hare in chicago, second busiest in the

country. ted, i used to live in chicago and know how busy it can be. southwest airlines is canceling ought flights out of chicago's midway airport starting at 5:00. what do we know about the delays? >> reporter: because of what's coming, suz sdplanne. it's miserable and rain and much worse in the hours to come in chicago. you mentioned the cancellations at midway. we expect cancellations at o'hare as well as the hours continue. right now at o'hare they can get flights out. the problem is getting planes in from affected areas from iowa and wisconsin where they're getting absolutely hammered. that's the case here in just a few hours, so the travelers here who are in line, they are going to get out likely if their planes leave within the next hour or two. out on the tarmac they have all the plows ready, the des-icing

machines ready and they're getting ready for a long night here. the they're scheduled to live after the 5:00 hour are warned to call ahead. if you come to the art, bris your patience. there's a good chance you could be delayed once this rain turns into snow. when does chicago expect to get hit by the storm? do we have a good idea? >> reporter: it started in the form of rain. we expect it between 5:00 and 7:00 to turn to snow. as you know from living here, from snow it turns into sleet and freeze rain, which makes the roads treacherous. it causes problems for air travel, so between 5:00 and 7:00 central time is when they think it will start and they expect it to continue, blizzard-like conditions all night until 3:00 a.m. tomorrow. so there's a lot of peel strand overnight at o'hare and midway waiting to get home for the holidays. >> thank you, ted. appreciate it. here's the last look at the weather across the country.

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u.s. military prosecutors

will decide whether to pursue the death penalty in the case of saf sergeant robert bales. he shot six afghan civilians in a shooting rampage this year. he was on his fourth combat deployment. his lawyer plames the army saying they knew he had ptsd. those who know him well don't believe the accusations. we have more. >> reporter: the military is wrestling with two competing portraits of army saf sergeant robert bales. a talented soldier that served withdistinction. they say their faith remains unshaken. >> much of the testimony was painful and heart-breaking, but we're not convinced the government has shown us the

truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth about what happened that night. >> by contrast they paint a he picture of a killer operating with chilling rationality. two soldiers said they drank whiskey with bales at a small u.s. base in afghanistan's kandahar province. at 1:30 in the morning a private said he heard gunfire in a nearby village. he testified he saw a man clothed in u.s. military fatigues and a t-shirt burst through the door of his arm and open fire hitting him in the next. a 7-year-old girl testified she hid behind her father. he died. the girl was shot in the leg. four people were killed and others wounded. a guard at the base testified that some time after 1:30 in the morning he saw a u.s. soldier return from the north, the same direction as the village. at 2:00 a.m. he woke up a fellow soldier and told him he had shot some people up.

he added take care of my kids. 30 minutes later another guard saw a u.s. soldier leave through the main gate, though he cannot identify bales. at a second village another bloody massacre. the mass carnage included women and children, some violently stabbed. some bodies were piled into a room and set on fire. a total of 12 kill would in this village, 9 of the dead were children. none of the victims, though, could positively identify bales. at 3:00 in the morning he was discovered missing from up camp. according on to testimony a search party was leaving the base when he returned wearing a makeshift cape and covered in blood. fellow soldiers testified that bales said, do you rat me out? and i thought i was doing the right thing. the case inflamed tensions in the war-wary nation. >> translator: we demand from the court in the united states

to give the death penalty to the u.s. soldier that massacred. >> they say he had a traumatic brain injury and was in an altered state that night. >> we need to know what it means when somebody is on steroids, alcohol and sleeping aids. what does that mean about his state of mind? >> the defense argues there were discrepancies in the prosecution's time line as well as how many shooters were involved. u.s. investigators could not reach the shooting scenes for 20 days because local villagers were furious with the americans, a sentiment that has bubbled below the surface the ongoing drawdown of u.s. troops in afghanistan. a 12-year-old found a loaded gun in a movie theater. this is in oregon. police say it was a semi-automatic mand gun with a round in the xham ber and the safety off. the boy did not pick up the gun and told his teacher, who called police. the boy was part of a group of students being awarded for their good work with a trip to the

movies yet to see "the hobbit." police are trying to trace the gun to the owner and notified the district attorney for possible charges. new studies show the number of sexual assaults at military academies is on the rise. some military women think they're more likely to be raped by a fellow service member then die in combat this despite leon panetta and other lawmakers calling for change. >> all of the generals have come before congress and said the same thing over and over again. there's zero tolerance, but nothing ever changes. rin was tht thing the emts gave me. now, i'm on a bayer aspirin regimen. [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. [ woman ] learn from my story.

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let's go to washington. house speaker john boehner is talking about his plan to avoid going over the fiscal cliff. he's walking away. it's part of the public campaign from both sides here to push for their own plans. they're trying to avoid massive tax increases and severe cuts that are expected to go into

effect at the beginning of next year if somehow the house and senate and white house do not come up with some sort of agreement, a budget agreement. we're still watching negotiations play out. we know the house speakerer has an alternative plan he's presenting he'll put forward to members later today, and we have heard that the president will, in fact, veto that. so at this point we are slimpl a at a standstill. have more as it develops. cadets at this country's elite military schools are reporting that there are now more sexual assaults. we are talking about west point, the air force academy, and annapolis. that is according to a new pentagon report released today. barbara starr has the story. >> reporter: kacarly marquette dreamed of going to west point. it was a nightmare. >> i remember him turning off the lights and me asking what are you doing? he proceeded to rape me.

>> reporter: many military women will tell you they believe there's greater chance they'll be raped by a fellow service member than killed in combat and the risk of sexual assault is he growing from the time young people enter elite service academies. cnn has obtained advanced details showing the problem is getting worse. >> the problem is no heads have rolled. all of the generals have come before congress and said the same thing over again. there's zero tolerance, but nothing ever changes. >> reporter: in april defense secretary leon panetta vowed things would change. >> sexual assault has no place in the military. it is a violation of everything that the u.s. military stands for. >> reporter: some of the most disturbing new nervous comes from the u.s. naval academy. cnn has learned the survey found 225 midshipmen mainly females

reported they were victims of unwanted sexual contact. everything from touching to forcible rape in the most recent academic year, but only 12 actually filed formal reports. that's down nearly 50% from last year. the navy's big worry? women are still not confident their reports will be taken seriously. >> the chain of command is part of the problem. you are required to report the incident to your chain of command. oftentimes the assailant is your commander. >> reporter: at west point and the air force academy, the number of sexual assault incidents reported rose as well. while disturbing, the survey did find the at these schools women appear to be more comfortable going ahead and reporting harassment and assault, though there were many cases of unreported incidents. and the military is cracking down on senior officers.

an army general is scheduled to go to trial in the coming weeks on charges he committed sexual offenses, but at the military service academies commanders are under growing pressure to make sure their students are kept safe. barbara starr, cnn, the pentagon. the shooting in newtown has many debating the need for more gun control, but is a stricter gun law part of the answer. we're focusing on understanding mental health. a medical examiner is looking for answers in the shooter's dna. what this can teach us when dr. sanjay gupta joins us live. ] where do you hear that beat? campbell's healthy request soup lets you hear it... in your heart. [ basketball bouncing ] heart healthy. great taste. mmm... [ male announcer ] sounds good. it's amazing what soup can do. make a wish! i wish we could lie here forever. i wish this test drive was over, so we could head back to the dealership.

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some of our country's worst school shootings, columbine, virginia tech, sandy hook, they have something in common that is obvious but it might be overlooked and it is that all of the killers were young men. joined by william pollack, he's

an associate clirngal professor of psychology at harvard. he also consults on mental health of men, adolescent men and boys at the cambridge mental health alliance. talk a little bit about the biology here. why is it that you have these killers that are all men? is there something about their biology that is different than women that make them act out and in this case kill? >> well, it there's a piece that's biological. men and young boys have more testosterone and nature plays a part. we found in our research that it's through nurture and how they're brought up and how they're socialized. young boys are taught to play with pain, not it to show problems or talk about it. they hold it all within. this one young man told me during an interview, a school shooter, told me after a while it pops out of you and you can't

stand it anymore. there's a biological proceed clift but there are social triggers that push boys towards more violent activity and serious violent activity, the murder of someone requires a serious weapon. there are more guns around for these boys to use. >> most men are obviously able to overcome triggers and the culture. the way they're raised. why these particular men? what makes them different than the others? >> well, what we found in classical school shootings and this is far from it, it's a terrible tragedy, these were peers in a classical school shootings, merp more disconnected from others and traumatized m-of them were depressed before hand and they felt they had no one to go to. it's all about connection. if they had a family member or someone at school who they could talk to about their problems, who understood and got them the emotional support they needed, the professional help they

needed, then it could be aaverted. if they kept it inside and then something pushed them over and they couldn't control it, well, their path to solution became violence. >> is there a way of preventing that from happening? is there a way of seeing a young person, a young man who needs people to reach out to him and to establish better social connections? >> yes. there's no one profile, but most thoughtful human beings out there can see that a young man is in pain, can see he's struggling with his family, can see that he's not going to school, can see he's acting strangle and has some severe emotional disorder and doesn't seem to be getting better, and they can reach out. they can reach out to people in the community. they can reach out to the family if they're open to it and can reach out to a school. there should be a safe place to go and report it. not to snitch on someone but to get help before that person hurts himself or others. >> you say that most people can

see this, but some can't see it. they don't know what they're looking for. what should you look for if you know or trying to make a distinction between someone who might be shy or quiet or socially awkward and someone who might have a very serious problem? >> well, it's a shift. if someone has always been shy, you won't be able to tell, and it's likely not a problem. if all of a sudden they become more shy or more agitated or all of a sudden they're speaking oddly or start talking about how they'd like to die or they really want other people to be hurt, well, that's the kind of thing that anyone can notice is a problem and can report to someone to get help. >> dr. william pollack, thank you so mesh. we appreciate your perspective. we want to bring in sanjay gupta to talk more about something very unique and fascinating. the fact that the medical examiner in newtown, they're bring inning a genist it to look at the dna of this gunman. what can they learn from the dna? >> you'd like to think they'll find some real answer by doing

this, looking at someone's actual dna a. the problem is my guess is unfortunately it won't yield much. a lot of mental illnesses, if there are any genes associated with them, there's lots of different genes. it's hard to put one specific gene and say this is the gene for schizophrenia. we're not there yet. another part of that is there are people who carry the genes for various mental illnesses but never have the behavior. simply having it doesn't mean you will develop the behavior. that weighs into this as well. it's hard to connect the dots on a genetic sort of basis. >> at this point we don't have the kind of information or the kind of technology or science to take a look at somebody's dna, their genetics and say this is evidence that this person would act out in this way? we just don't know? >> right. maybe the point we may get to ultimately is finding precise genes for mental illnesses. there's an idea of what you have in terms of what you're born with, but how you behave is

dependent on your environment and nurture. that's a hard thing to assign strictly to dna. >> what do we know or learn from the fact that these killers, the gunman, this was a murder suicide. does that tell us anything about the mental state of the gunman, of the troubled shooter? >> you know, everyone will say there's no hard and fast rules, but this is interesting. i think this whole notion that if you know right from wrong, you decide to commit suicide in this case. he killed himself. give some inference that he knew what he was doing was wrong. that may sound like a simple thing. if you look at what happened in arizona andauroaurora, in both cases they didn't shoot himself. in arizona it was unclear to him why he was arrested. the idea they knew the difference wasn't there. it does start to narrow down the list a little bit in terms if you think mental illnesses, the types that cause that. >> over time we've learned a lot about the killer, the shooter in columbine. is it a matter of time we have a more complete picture of what

this gunman did in newtown, what his thinking was, what his mindset was? >> i think we're going to have a much more complete picture than we have now. i think this is collected in a very -- there's a consistent way to collect this. they have ideas of the types of patterns they're looking for. was there psychotic behavior or was he traumatized in some way. they talk to friends and family. if he was visiting doctors and taking medications, that's very important. at the end you get a more complete picture. whether it's completely satisfactory and say this explains it, i mean that depends on who you are and how you look at it. i doubt we get there. >> sanjay, the one thing when we look at this sheeting? something it leaves you you? what is the one thing to understand in this? >> well, you know, it's funny because i think there's some things that are inexpolice i believe whether it's factual or moral or financial or spiritual whether it's emotional.

that's the context of the world in which we live. you try to explain that in athat context for yourself, and i was up there. there's nothing -- in some ways it seems silly to try and find explanations. it was just so awful. >> it's hard to understand. >> yeah. >> all right. thank you, sanjay. appreciate it. while we search for answers, of course, the police investigating the shooting, that's true searching for answer. we'll be back with the investigation. they're liooking at the gunman' home, again, looking for clues. d to breathe, but with advair, i'm breathing better. so now i can be in the scene. advair is clinically proven to help significantly improve lung function. unlike most copd medications, advair contains both an anti-inflammatory and a long-acting bronchodilator working together to help improve your lung function all day. advair won't replace fast-acting inhalers

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in newtown, connecticut today four more families are saying good-bye to their loved ones. an education board official calls it an assembly line of funerals and wakes as they mark one week since the shooting.

deborah feyerick is in newtown today. this is a very difficult time for this community still. >> reporter: it's a very, very difficult time, and everybody is still very much in mourning. wherever you go in this town, you can see signs of what has taken place not just in the center where you see the memorials but elsewhere. when you go and get a coffee, there are people dressed in mourning clothes coming from a funeral. when you drive the streets, you can see police cars that have been positioned in front of homes. four people today are buried, one of them the teacher lauren rosseau and her family is saying good buy. also three stints, allison wyatt, benjamin wheeler and katherine hubbard. they'll all be laid to rest today. they're roughly the same age as the gunman when he moved here and when he began his career at sandy hook lelementary school. there's a direct connection there.

those children, however, everybody everywhere you go everyone is on the verge of tears. it will take a long time until everyone here gets over what has happened, if, in fact, that's even possible, suzanne. >> you're standing outside of the home of gunman. what are investigators looking for? what's the latest? >> reporter: there was a lot of activity first thing this morning. there were about 8 to 11 detectives from the major crime squad unit from the connecticut state police. they were here on the premises. they've been here three and a half days. about a half hour ago they pulled out. the detectives and mobile crime unit pulled out. we spoke with detective vance, and he says that the crime scene is done for now. they have processed all the information that they've got from inside. they went through documents and files and whatever they could find, whatever videos were in the home, anything that could give them a suggestion of what was happening. so the home is still a crime

scene. it is still sort of under search warrant and still seized basically by the police but right now the processing is done. if they have to come back, they will come back, but right now they have a lot to go on. they'll try to re-create what was going on in the gunman's mind, suzanne. >> we know that the attorney general eric holder is going to be in newtown tonight. what is the purpose of his visit? >> reporter: well, he is -- right now he's meeting with the vice president on the newly appointed gun task force. then he comes here. he's not going to any of the funerals and not taking any public appearances. he wants to meet with law enforcement as well as first responders to talk to them and to understand from their perspective what's happening and what's going on. again, he's just coming here as part of this task force trying to kind of get inside. so he will arrive later this afternoon, but again, it will be very private and very quiet as he gathers information, suzanne.

>> all right. deborah feyerick, thank you. bulletproof book bags is one thing kids can wear to stay safe at school. we'll see if they work. protective school gear is up next. but now, with zyrtec-d®, i have the proven allergy relief of zyrtec®, plus a powerful decongestant. zyrtec-d® lets me breath freer, so i can love the air. [ male announcer ] zyrtec-d®. behind the pharmacy counter. no prescription needed.

we want to go directly to washington. we are getting pictures here and turning tape. this is the vice president, joe biden charged with heading up this white house effort to address gun violence. they just met with top law enforcement leaders from around the country as well as cabinet members. let's listen in. >> this is my friend and ally for over 35 years. the president asked me to convene this meeting with you and we will be talking with other stakeholders as well. because we have to have a confidence in a way to respond to the mass murder of our children that we saw in

connecticut, but that's not the only reason. i want to talk to you all about the way we have always talked in the past. we sat down years ago and everyone thought that was an exercise to reach out and pretend we cared about what you thought. you, the police organizations were the organizations that came forward and not only dealt with the punishment incarceration, but you came up with the ideas about community policing. reaching out and having drug courts. you know more than everyone what is needed and i think the public learned about you that you have a much more holistic view of how to deal with violence on our streets and in our country than you are given credit for. you know you all and i know you well. you are the first group with

whom the president giving this charge along with our cabinet colleagues here, you are the first group i wanted to speak with. what i would like to do is the president is absolutely committed to keeping his promise that we will act and act in a way that is designed even if he said we can only save one life, we to take action. there a number of things you know because we have spoken with you all and we have a relationship over the past four years. there things we can immediately do. we are going to need your help. we see no reason why not. it passed the senate and the house and we were convinced to put it back in the bill. we worked from bullets to the type of weapons that shoot people off the street and a

whole lot else. that's what i want to talk about today. want to hear your views. we will need your advocacy and the law enforcement organizations. with that i like to invite the press out of the room. we will have a frank discussion and as these women and men in uniform are around here, we are never not frank with one another. i'm anxious to get to a discussion. >> the vice president and the task force. you can see members of the cabinet representing homeland security and law enforcement officials gathered with him. he has about a month or so to present with the president plans and moving forward when it comes to gun policy as well as looking at other aspects of this. the culture of violence in our country as well as the state of mental health.

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. nervous parents are looking at a way to protect their children. one out come has a surge in demand for little known products that can bulletproof kids, things like backpack inserts. here's miguel marquez. it is a disturbing sign of the times. >> you make bullet-resistant inserts for backpacks? >> show us how they work. >> this is military grade. >> he said in the last week, sales jumped 500% and they are still climbing. parents seeking ways to protect their kids in the most extreme situations. the material will not stop high

velocity rounds like in newtown, but the shots at point blank range. >> all of the kinetic energy was absorbed with armor. >> three small hole and it is armor is stiffer. the roups are inside here? >> that's correct. >> an amenitiment to is not alone. they promise your peace of mind is our business. in austin, texas, bulletproof me said sales are up 50% and new customers, schools and daycare facilities. even the columbian designer of fashionable clothing as a request for bullet-resistant garments for a toddler. >> people say you are profiting off of terror and horror. >> that's the last thing we wanted to do. this is something we put out at the request of parents trying to meet a need. >> it's proprietary. they lend itself to a product so